This sacrament is the third Vedic Sacrament and is performed when the pregnancy of the mother is fairly well established; it is performed during the fourth, sixth and eighth months of pregnancy. It is aimed at the integral growth and development of the foetal brain and its mental processes, as well as at the mental and physical well-being of the mother.

The healthy development of the mental faculties can only occur if the mother herself is in sound physical and mental health. Therefore, in a Vedic family, all possible measures are taken to provide a congenial environment for a sound healthy development of the mother and child.

We all know that when we plant a seed in fertile soil it is with the intention it will grow into a healthy plant and bear fruits it was intended to bear-provided we dutifully nurture it with water, manure and the right types of chemical fertilizers. In a similar manner, the child in the mother’s womb also requires consistent nourishment through psychological and spiritual endowments to enable him/her to attain the maximum developments in brain, mental and psychic faculties. The Simantonnayan sacrament is directed towards these attainments.

The Vedic scriptures say that when the child (foetus) is four months old in the mother’s womb it begins to develop its mental faculties; and by the fifth month, its perceptive faculties (sense organs) are fairly well developed. By the sixth month the intellectual faculties begin to develop. During the seventh month the foetal body parts are well developed and defined. And beginning in the eighth month and through to the end of the ninth month, the intuitive faculties and ability to differentiate and respond become comparatively functional; and the hormones that have been in the embryonic forms in the earlier stages have now comparatively attained their functional endowments and virility, and the child is now ready to respond appropriately to the stimulations of the external world when born. Therefore it is crucial that this sacrament is performed for the sound and healthy development of the child’s mind and the physical body.

It is highly recommended that during these months of the pregnancy the mother herself is fairly well exposed to a healthy environment, both for her psychological well-being and for her spiritual satisfaction. The active support of the family members and relatives in creating this congenial atmosphere is very imperative.

The way the mother maintains her visual likings and appreciations, and the subsequent thoughts that emanate from these visual perceptions, all have a direct bearing on the growing foetal mind. She should always utilize all her perceptual faculties (the five sensory organs) to gain positive values and knowledge and to reject and dispel ignorance. It is essential that the pregnant mother always endeavours to keep herself in an environment which generates honesty and transparency, congeniality, love and understanding; and her daily activities have the embodiment of sacrificial motives. These are all positive attributes and have direct positive bearings on the psychological and spiritual development of the child to be born.

These sacraments are performed by a priest well versed in the rituals of Vedic sacraments. The sacrament is very ably described in “Sanskar Vidhi” authored by Swami Dayanand.